How hospital expansion, new technology at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville are helping patients

Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville has opened its latest expansion , a $378 million project that added five floors to the main patient tower.

The "vertical growth" brings 166 patient beds in medical and surgical nursing units, as well as new automation and patient care technology, according to Mayo.

"Mayo Clinic continues to invest in growth and health care transformation, including a plan to more than double our space for patient care, biomedical research and education in Florida," Dr. Kent Thielen, CEO, said. "The structures we are creating now will serve the patients of today and the patients we will care for over generations to come."

Here's some of the highlights:

Why was the Mayo expansion needed?

The project was approved by the national Mayo Clinic Health System board in February 2022 as part of its " Bold. Forward. Unbound . next-generation health care model that brings solutions to more patients when and where they need them."

"To harness the full power of these innovations to benefit patients, we are transforming physical and digital health care infrastructure into the 21st century and beyond, investments to revolutionize the health care experience for patients and staff," according to Mayo.

The board's 2022 action approved a total of $432 million for the hospital expansion, central utility plant expansion and laundry expansion, according to Mayo Jacksonville spokeswoman Tia Ford.

How will the Mayo expansion directly impact patients?

New technology made patient rooms "an extension of the care team," with patients able to "control every aspect of their room experience from an app on their phones," according to Mayo. Technology will monitor sleeping patients' vital signs, leading to fewer interruptions, and family members can participate in patient care consultations virtually.

Here are some other technological additions to patient rooms, as described by Mayo.

• "A modernized patient digital wall that engages patients with clinical information, education, communication, relaxation and entertainment."
• "A digital entryway display that pulls real-time data from the electronic health record and delivers information to protect the patient as well as care team members and visitors who are entering the room."
• "An ambient clinical intelligence-empowered camera that enables the consolidation of multiple sensors into a single platform, turning patient rooms into an integrated virtual care delivery hub."

Even patient room windows help with healing.

Floor-to-ceiling windows in the new rooms increase natural light by 80%, helping improve patients' moods and promote faster healing. And some of the rooms have scenic views.

How will the expansion benefit hospital staff?

Updated technology and space improve workflow and efficiency, giving staff more time for patient care rather than administrative tasks. Self-guided carts save them time by delivering food and linens on command, according to Mayo.

Also, the expansion includes an indoor/outdoor lounge on the top floor for staff and visitors.

Mayo staff with a variety of roles and functions participated in the expansion's planning and development process, providing "critical" input, according to Mayo. They helped "plan, pilot, evaluate and implement the innovative technologies that will solve unmet patient and staff needs."

"The expansion … is a bold reimagining and blueprint for the future of health care delivery, co-designed with the collective wisdom of those who live and breathe it," said Dr. Michael Maniaci, professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. "By weaving together the insights of both our staff and our patients, we've created a space where innovation is not only imagined but also implemented, shaped by the very people it serves."

So how many rooms does Mayo have now in Jacksonville?

The five-floor expansion brought the patient tower's capacity to 419 licensed beds. The expansion includes one floor for future growth and another for mechanical and electrical support.

Mayo opened in April 2008 with six floors and 214 beds. In 2012, two additional floors and 90 beds were added.

Is more expansion underway at the Jacksonville clinic?

Two projects are still to come this year, both in a building that is under construction, but expected to open this summer, Ford said.

One of them will be the "first carbon ion treatment facility in the Western Hemisphere," according to Mayo.

Carbon ion therapy kills cancer cells "that are resistant to traditional radiation therapy." It can also "precisely deposit this treatment into the resistant tumor while minimizing the dose to adjacent healthy tissue … [which] makes it ideal to treat cancerous tumors in sensitive parts of the body," Mayo said.

The other project is a biomanufacturing hub for cancer immunotherapies and advances in transplantation.

"Cancer immunotherapy drugs don't directly target cancer cells," Mayo said. "Instead, they enhance the body's immune cells, improving their ability to recognize and destroy cancer cells."

Where are Mayo's other locations?

In addition to Jacksonville, Mayo has major campuses at its Rochester, Minn. headquarters and in Arizona and an outpatient clinic in London . Mayo also has a regional network of health care facilities that serves communities in southern Minnesota, western Wisconsin and northern Iowa.

bcravey@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4109

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: How hospital expansion, new technology at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville are helping patients